Here is What Hedge Funds Think About VeriFone Systems Inc (PAY)

VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY) was in 19 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. PAY investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 17 hedge funds in our database with PAY holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are plenty of metrics investors can use to monitor stocks. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outclass the broader indices by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of stimuli for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a peek at the key action encompassing VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY).

How have hedgies been trading VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 12% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, Elliott Management, managed by Paul Singer, holds the largest position in VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY). Elliott Management has a $60.1 million call position in the stock, comprising 1.3% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $24.2 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management and Michael Doheny’s Freshford Capital Management.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Elliott Management, managed by Paul Singer, created the most valuable call position in VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY). Elliott Management had 60.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management also initiated a $15.7 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new PAY positions are Phil Frohlich’s Prescott Group Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value LP.

How have insiders been trading VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time period, VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY). These stocks are Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL), HNI Corp (NYSE:HNI), Herman Miller, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLHR), Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI), and Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS). This group of stocks are in the business equipment industry and their market caps resemble PAY’s market cap.